AFL: Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward reflects on ‘awesome’ experience after Lance Franklin kicked his 1000th goal

Will Hayward is in career-best form ahead of his 100th AFL match and looks back on a difficult time at the start of last season as a ‘blessing in disguise’.

Will Hayward will play his 100th AFL match on Friday night. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward won’t ever forget Lance Franklin’s 1000th goal, or the hectic scenes immediately after.

Sharing that “bloody special” moment with Franklin has already become the most treasured of Hayward’s career, which reaches its 100th game against Richmond at the SCG on Friday night.

Two months have passed since the AFL legend steered through his historic goal, but Hayward still vividly recalls the rush of people that surrounded him, Franklin and other Swans in the ensuing seconds.

“I was actually right near him,” Hayward told News Corp.

“But it went pretty quickly from, ‘This is awesome’ to ‘Jesus, get me out of here, this is quite scary’, so credit to him, because he handled it really well.”

Will Hayward, pictured to the left of Lance Franklin after he kicked his 1000th goal, cherished being part of the historic moment. Picture: Getty Images

Hayward counts himself as lucky to have roamed for the past six seasons the same forward line as Franklin, who he calls a “father figure”.

That might lend itself to jokes about Franklin’s advanced age but his 23-year-old teammate says it with all the respect in the world.

Hayward is relishing his football life again after a difficult opening month last year spent outside the senior side, including one match as an unused medical substitute.

It proved a tough adjustment after he made 69 appearances in his first four seasons, but he’s played all 29 games since regaining his spot and is in career-best form.

“I think it was a blessing in disguise, looking back,” Hayward said.

Will Hayward has developed a strong bond with fellow forward Lance Franklin. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“It was a tough pill to swallow at the time, because I’d played most games since I’d been at the club, so to miss the first month was really hard to watch.

“But I went back and just worked on my craft and really zoned in on my role in the team and didn’t overcomplicate it. I think that’s helped me.”

At 187cm, Hayward’s role was never as defined or obvious as someone like Franklin but a greater understanding of his job description has paved the way to his success in the past 18 months.

These days he works higher up the ground and in conjunction with Sydney’s wingers, with his impact felt far beyond the stats sheet, although he is averaging a career-high 1.5 goals per game this year.

“Goals-wise, I feel like I’ve been fairly consistent and that’s something I want to do,” Hayward said.

Will Hayward is on track to kick a career-high tally of goals this season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“In my role, sometimes you might not get too many possessions or things like that, but I’m really clear on what I have to do and I think that’s helped me this year.”

Hayward will have a strong crew of family from South Australia in the SCG stands on Friday night but his milestone celebrations will accidentally spill over into next week.

“My mates actually miscounted and booked tickets to the game in Melbourne next week, so I’ll see them then,” he said, laughing.

“But that’s all right. I’m happy with it being low key and there being some family there.

“It’s a massive honour to notch up 100 games for a club with so much history and it’s something I’m really proud of.”

Originally published as AFL: Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward reflects on ‘awesome’ experience after Lance Franklin kicked his 1000th goal